DM NomadSage's Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master nomadicc

Mal, need a poison save or assume you auto-fail it.

Round Three
Initiative Order: [28] Spiders, [22] Parity, [18] Malnival, Heng, [11] Kelda, [6] Harlan

Parity and Heng shift to await the next ambush, which comes a few seconds later. The previous two spiders and the wounded one from the original ambush materialize by Harlan and flanking Parity and Kelda. Malnival is left alone, for the moment.

Parity slashes out with Suishen, killing one spider outright with a single attack. Heng roars like a dragon, reeling the second spider with its power.

Kelda, also in a ready stance, takes down the wounded spider with her sword, negating the flank before they can even attack. Harlan's channeled energy heals the group.

The last visible spider makes a final, deep bite out of Harlan before disappearing again.

End of Combat!

Parity cleans his sword of spider ichor and states calmly, "They've retreated into the trees."

"Ow."

Harlan quickly green flag touches Mal to stop the spread of poison, then channels again.

Channel: 5d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 4, 6, 1) = 19

"Were they working for the oni?"

Parity is now full hp minus the loss from Con damage.

Harlan and Malnival will still have some poison damage from the initial damage.

Harlan moves to heal the poison damage suffered by the group, before checking Skygni for any damage and then remounting.

Lesser Restore Parity: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Lesser Restore Mal: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Lesser Restore Harlan: 1d4 ⇒ 4

That enough to keep us going, or more? Remember in Pathfinder only a full -2 affects your stats.

"Shall we?"

Good here

Heng steps back down to the ground warily gazing upward for the spiders he cannot see. "I did not sense that they are evil. I would tend to think they are merely opportunistic predators drawn to this strange forest. Let us continue."

Lakes of Tranquil Contemplation

Leaving behind the site of the spider attack, the path winds through the trees in a precise pattern, despite the overgrowth and wrecked pavement. After you descend another stair to the next terrace, the path crosses a stream. The water cascades from the higher terrace and under a broken arched bridge. A series of three weirs link a trio of small lakes, whose surfaces dance with lilies and lotus plants of great size. The water is dark, obscuring their depth, and filled with still, cool water. Several dozen strange heron-like birds swim or fly near the water, which seems abundant in gold koi carp, some of which have grown to around two foot long.

***

The Dark Pavilion

The path continues on past the lakes and descends down a sloping curve before reaching a dark pavilion. The large structure is almost completely swallowed by the surrounding foliage, so much so that you are nearly inside it before you recognize the structure. Like the other, smaller pavilions in the garden, it is little more than a roof supported on four stone corners, with a circular entrance at both the garden side and the far side. The path continues through, a distance of about a hundred feet, but the interior of the pavilion is cloaked in shadow.

Notably, thick webbing hangs in the corners and in the trees overhead.

yeah, I see your syntax there and I can't get near either of those so...

Heng look upon the shadowy webbed pavilion with distrust. "I think I can run through quite quickly and draw out any more spiders," he suggests.

Lakes of Tranquil Skill Check Impossibilities

"Would you say that water is brooding? That water looks like it's brooding. Anybody know what those birds are? Maybe they eat the koi?"

Pavilion

"You know, maybe the spiders weren't random? Maybe it's a spider oni. Do you smell anything Skygni?"

The Dark Pavilion

Skygni sniffs, "Death."

How is DC 25 impossible for level 10 characters??!?

If you don't have points in the Knowledge skill the best you can get is 10.

Lol, so impossible for Harlan... sounded like they were out of reach for everyone.

EDIT: Granted, your skill monkey quit, so they very well might be unattainable all of you.

Crap my post got eaten

Parity cocks his head as he often does when trying to ascertain location and then nods, "I agree with you Heng, I believe trying to draw any unsavories out is best. We will be ready"

Parity draws Suishen and then thinks for a moment, asking Heng as an afterthough, "Do you want light? Suishen can bring a significant amount of light if you think that would assist you."

I have a 10% chance on the know nature if I burn ki, but I don't think it's worth it. Heng def isn't the intellectual type.

Heng smiles faintly at Parity's generous offer, "My mother's heritage grants me some ability to see in darkness and I shall move through swiftly."

Heng first peers steadily into the pavilion attempting to sense evil once more. Then if nothing is apparent, he steps into the air and assuming dragon stance moves rapidly through the shadowy pavilion.

I have 100 min of air walk so that should still be in effect and a move of 60 so can easily cover the 100 feet of pavilion length in a round. fingers crossed.

Malnival stands beside Harlan and shakes his head. "I hope he makes it back."

"Oh he'll be fine. Heng is tough. Once I taught him to walk on air? Forget it, nothing in that hut is going to stop Heng."

Harlan almost makes it sound like he's not worried for his friend.

The Dark Pavilion

Heng races forward with a burst of ki-enhanced speed, running on air a few feet above the ground. Nothing impedes his progress through the tunnel, and he is able to get a better look at the shadowy interior. Halfway through, the ground is split by a fabricated rift -- the dried up remains of a decorative canal. The bridge that once crossed it is long since gone. A wide shaft in the hillside, from where the water once flowed, is now a web-crusted nest. As Heng passed, he could see eight massive eyes tracking him hungrily.

Inputs?

The Dark Pavilion

As Heng passed, he could see eight massive eyes tracking him hungrily.

are we talking another giant tarantula like we fought before or something new? I believe that I am sensing a theme.

Heng yells back to the others, "Beware. A great spider lurks in the drain of an empty canal halfway across."

Its not a tarantula, but it is rather huge.

"Great more spiders."

This is a linear path? We must pass through the Dark Pavilion to carry on?

Not necessarily. You can machete through the thick underbrush in any direction.

"So, I think we're dealing with a lot of spiders then. Should we attack the large one? Or see if it's hostile anyway?"

"It looked hungry," Heng calls back.

Know nature 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
did it look like a garden variety giant spider or something else like the freaky ghost spiders?

It was "garden variety", as far as you could see...

Can I see the pavilion from this side?

Heng calls back again,"Will it be difficult to go around? I would rather not weary ourselves further before we even reach the oni."

so it's time versus risking more venom and stat nerfing?

Can we all fly? Can airwalk over myself. Would prefer to avoid unecessary spider combat.

It's pretty much the same from both sides, as in the original description. Also, the last batch of spiders came from above... =)

EDIT: Let me add that other than a thick canopy, there's nothing preventing you from flying.

oops, I meant to ask if I could see the House of WB. I'm kinda leaning toward all air walking, though that burns quite a bit of Harlan's spell power.

Not yet... the thick forest still blocks any sight of the main pagoda.

Air Walk lasts 10min/level, if we hurry I won't have to cast on you and I can hopefully ride Skygni saving myself a casting.

"What should we do guys? Let's hurry before more spiders find us."

huh, actually Mal can cast fly and Parity has suishen. I figure I should still have over an hour (confirm GM?) so you just need to cast it on Skygni. Let's take to the hopefully friendlier skies!

And Kelda

So, the plan?

Go around?

Heng calls from the other side, "Harlan, might you not also grant Skygni and Kelda the ability to walk on air and simply walk over the pavilion?"

might as well get us all flying. It seems to be SOP for this AP.

Yup, airwalkin over.

"Of course Heng, doing it right now."

Harlan casts the requested spells, then rides Skygni over along with Kelda.

"Ok, let's take care of this oni."

Malnival cast a spell and his feet leave the ground as he flies along behind the wolf.

The House of Withered Blossoms

Using magical flight, you leave the dark pavilion behind and climb through the trees. Once through the tangled and web-infested canopy, you gain your first view of the central building. At the bottom of a vast, terraced bowl of overgrown gardens is a towering porcelain pagoda, its walls and eaves smothered in thick, clinging vines and draped with heavy webs soaring to a golden rooftop. Stylized representations of forgotten creatures and beasts dance along the pagoda's walls, and a band of huge thorny spines juts from its midsection. Clouds of violet blossoms drift through the ruin, floating gently on the air like dark snowflakes.

The pagoda sits in the center of a wide, barren depression, apparently once a lake. You notice that as the garden approaches this area, decay sets in: plants take on an ochre hue from about fifty feet away from the edge, and this hue deepens the closer plants come to the edge itself. However, even though withering, the plants are still alive.

The remains of a shattered bridge guide your eyes to the entrance below, a huge bronze door marked with stylized pictures of dueling dragons. Hundreds of open-mouthed dragon faces surround the doorframe, leering out hungrily.

As Heng descends toward the dilapidated pagoda, he turns to the others. [b]"Do you detect any acting magics that might affect us?"{/b]

When the group flies within 60' Harlan will begin looking for magic.

Cast Detect Magic and head in.

As you near the entrance, the sounds of fighting -- grunts and shouts, weapons clashing, and the like -- filter up from inside.

"If the kami can't enter ... who is fighting?" Parity wonders aloud as he slows his approach to consider.

Forgot to note that Harlan detects no magic from the entrance.

"If the kami can't enter ... who is fighting?" Parity wonders aloud as he slows his approach to consider.

"I do not know..." Heng responds as he quickly descends to see what is happening.

"I see no magic, but it might be a trap. Be careful."